Leaderboard

Ok, I popped a set of TI flats on the jazz and despite the state of the frets, it plays and sounds absolutely sublime. Just needs a minor setup to suit myself, otherwise I'll leave it at that. The chap who I bought it from, acquired it 20yrs ago. Never gigged during that time. Howard Livett, the original owner bought it new when he was 16yrs old apparently. When I clapped eyes on this, it was a no brainer 🙂.

🎸 Afterword: The End of the Leo Era — Guitars in the Age of Machines There is a quiet, almost sacred weight to the realization that an era has ended. When G&L Musical Instruments closed its doors in September of 2025 and Fender Musical Instruments Corporation took ownership of the Leo Fender name and likeness shortly thereafter, it wasn’t just a corporate event. It was the closing of a circle that began in a California workshop nearly seventy-five years earlier, a circle drawn by the hands of one man who changed how the world heard itself. For decades, guitars were more than tools. They were companions to rebellion, mirrors for expression, and extensions of personality. The men who built them Leo Fender, Les Paul, Ted McCarty, George Fullerton didn’t see themselves as legends. They were engineers, craftsmen, and dreamers shaping the electricity of a new century. Their work gave sound a body and feeling a form. But as time passed, the tools outlived their makers, and the world they built for began to fade. In 1991, when Leo Fender passed away, production continued. His instruments still bore his name, still resonated with the clarity and bite that had defined his philosophy: “Keep it simple, keep it serviceable, keep it musical.” Yet the world around them changed. Computers began to play where musicians once did. Songs became data. Instruments became icons hanging on digital walls. Gradually, the sound of fingers on strings once the voice of a generation grew quieter beneath the algorithmic hum of automated rhythm and synthetic tone. Now, in an age of artificial intelligence, auto-tune, and generative soundscapes, the tactile nature of a guitar feels almost rebellious. To hold a slab of wood, to feel its grain, to fight the resistance of strings, this is an act of defiance against convenience. It is imperfect, human, and slow. And because of that, it is real. That reality may not trend on streaming charts, but it endures in hearts and hands that still crave authenticity. The guitars Leo built at G&L from the first F-100 to the final ASATs will never exist again. Not in their original form, not under his name, not with his vision guiding production. They are artifacts now, preserved echoes of a time when sound was made, not programmed. Each neck pocket date, each pot code, each finish check is a record of human intention, proof that design, when born of passion, can transcend the life of its creator. To the next generation, Leo Fender’s name may appear in footnotes, or on the headstock of a reissued model designed by committee. But for those who remember and for those who care to rediscover his genius remains carved in every curve and frequency of the instruments he left behind. And those instruments, kept alive by players and collectors alike, will continue to sing long after the machines have fallen silent. What dies in the market often survives in memory. And memory, if tended to carefully, becomes legacy.

As promised, photos of my new graft 4 J type which was delivered today from Alan. It’s a beauty!

Should you have 24000 € burning your pocket, it's not a delirious price for an original 1955 Fender Precision Bass in excellent condition and owned by Jean-Marc Haroutiounian (born in 1964, so he can't be the first owner), a French professional bass player known for his work with Michel Sardou. That said, it's at 22000 € on Reverb, meaning he certainly will accept the price they retail for, which is around between 15~18000 € depending on its condition. The ads are here: https://www.zikinf.com/annonces/annonce-2396807 Fender Precision 1955 - Sunburst https://reverb.com/item/88147330

As it's raining, I thought I'd look at speaker corners. I brought some from a supplier and they are thin and weedy. So thought I'd design some of my own. Also the front of the speaker is slightly different to the rear of the speaker and a different design would benefit here as the baffle is recessed. The back speaker corners are more traditional These are all 5mm thick and around 60mm x 60mm. Other sizes may be done if enough interest. Mmmm.... after looking at the still printing one, 60x60mm may be too big. Its chunky Happy to print them out for free for a suitable donation to the North West Air Ambulance. I'll post pictures when they are on the speaker. Thanks Rob

I've been a bit worried walking home late at night with a £4k+ Dingwall strapped to my back so I got a cheap bass from a kindly basschatter to use when I know I'm going to be walking the mean streets of New Cross in the dark (it's not bad around here to be honest, it's just I've never carried anything this valuable around before). So, I met up with Paul walbassuk in a service station on Saturday (as I've done so often before) and handed over some notes in exchange for a bass (great transaction, lovely guy - huge thanks!) It's A BASS! First impressions. The output is HOT. I mean, you could power a light off it, very very hot. Heavy but comfortable. Neck is quite nice, but chunky baseball-bat like while narrow string spacing. Frets good. Nice satin feel. The finish is horrible. I HATE photoflame but hey. doesn't really matter. Tuners are fine. Bridge is fine. Action is high, will probably take that down a few notches. Strings are fine. Should have asked what they are but it doesn't really matter. Tone is pretty Musicman like, but blimey I need to back off the active. I mean, the centre detent is higher than I'd ever use for bass, mid and treble. Taking it down to bass 2/10, mid 2/10 and treble 5/10 and backing off the volume gets you a rather pleasant sound. This is just the job. More than adequate for any of my needs. BUT that means the one-in, one-out rule will be put into action this weekend. My '89 Stingray will be going on the market. I'll miss owning it, but I won't miss the bass itself.

That's a very poor excuse Alex. Have a re-think.

We've had 2 rehearsauditions for guitar players recently... 1st one said he knew nothing about theory but had put quite a lot of practice into working out our songs. He was, however, a bit plodding and standard-metal with very little invention, spark or syncopation though timing was generally good. 2nd guy was far more interesting musically, understood what modes were and could play around with our songs. He started off playing a little too blues-ily (as our original guitar player did on the album) but varied from that when told he had free reign. His only negative was that he's very slow to respond to messages on't phone... So I was keen on 2, the rest of the band wanted 1 as "he was heavier". I said "heavy is easy, interesting isn't, what sort of band do we want to be - same old same old or an interesting mix of all-sorts?"). As a result it looks like we may now have a 2 bass 2 guitar band! I'm very tempted to show 'em Chick Corea's advice to musos, though as they all hate anything to do with jazz, often including musicianship, it may well fall on deaf ears!

Those are way overpriced - I wouldn't pay anymore than £50 to £100 for a TE cab and about £150 max for a head. The GP12SMX are generally the most expensive and although people try to sell them for £250 and up, I've seen them go (in the last few months) for £120.

Some things in life you know are bound to happen somewhere along the road, you just don't know where, or when. Today was that day for me. By sheer luck everything aligned: the instrument itself, locally for sale, within budget, generous tax return which sweetened the already more than fair deal, and a feeling of "If I don't do this, I'm going to regret it massively later". So, since today I became the proud 2nd owner guardian of a September 1966 P-bass. Fully original, including the case, except the missing bridge cover, and some filled holes where someone installed other tuners, but the ginormous Klusons 546's cover those up very nicely. In a very, very good condition (buckle-rash the size of a coin), frets at de-facto factory condition, slightly faded red, but still plenty present,... And that patina, that's something you can't fake (nor the smell). Rather lightweight, very resonant, a bit neckheavy due to those tuners and the very light body, it has that extremely pleasant 60's C-shape (wide, but thin). It has the newest additions that were introduced in 1966: Indian Rosewood fretboard, a 45° bevelled pickguard and the wide frets. Made by the same people that made the early 60's ones, using the same methods, and virtually identical materials... just under a different contract. It has seen some action, but it was also very well babied and cared for. And given it's a '66, it's an absolute growler. There's something about '66/'67 basses that gives them more raunchy punch compared to 1965 or 1968 onwards. And if it's good enough for James Jamerson, it's good enough for me! Going to install an old set of LaBella's tomorrow, see if I can reduce the action a bit. Also: going to thin out the heard a bit. Given I've now got "the original", the "American Original '60s" may leave the premises, my Jazz Bass as well, my 500/1 that hardly saw any use, maybe the EB3, although: that's so quirky I might just keep it. But with this, I kind of arrived at the end of the line.

My view is that there are decent reasons for using wedges instead of a simple shim at the end of the pocket but: - it's not essential - it has nothing to do with ski-jumps The main decent reason that I might use wedges is that a wedge does provide a tighter contact between the neck and neck pocket - and the more rigid the neck fixing, then the less vibration loss. Whether anyone could hear the difference is, of course, a totally different matter! And so to ski jump. Ski jumps are real and not uncommon, but a single shim at the end of the neck pocket causing a ski jump is a 'challenge' to physics, materials science and, certainly in my case, practical observation: - Physics. The pair of screws at the shim end of the pocket is close to the shim. The pair of screws at the other end is close to the other contact point. The gap is in the middle - and on most basses (admittedly not all) there aren't additional screws there. So the screw forces are holding the two contact points tight - there is no bending force - Materials science. The heel of the neck has one of the largest aspect ratios (thickness: length) of most of the other wood components. Even in a hydraulic press, it would take some considerable force to bend that. I think the wood round the screw threads would fail first. - Practical observation. Those who have followed my build threads over the years will know that I exclusively build through-necks. And yes - you can and do get ski jumps with through-necks. Basically: the neck is pulled up by the string tension; the truss rod keeps the bendy bit straight but there remains a movement axis at the neck/body joint; the string tension wants to snap the neck at the joint for the neck and body to clap hands. There is some flex upwards even when new. And, over time, that continued tension can result in a set lift of the neck. It's one of the reasons that many builders add a 'fall-away' of the frets that sit over the body bulk near the heel. If you don't, then folks who like a super low action and play way up the dusty end will tend to get buzz of the upper frets.

I know there's a lot of love for these, and I share it. This is my second one - the previous was identical, but a victim of one of those 'perhaps I really do have too many basses' moments of doubt which can strike the unwary. This one cropped up on our local Irish small-ads site for a price not dissimilar to what I sold the old one for, so having watched and wondered for a while I eventually did a deal for it. When I got it home, though, I realised that it hadn't just been the 'too many basses' feeling that had prompted the previous one's departure - I was also not loving the bling. So in a move which I'm sure some will regard as quasi-sacreligious, I set about replacing all that fine gold hardware with something a bit more, well, restrained. And here is the result: There's no 'before' picture as I'm sure you all know what one of these looks like when it comes out of the factory (if you don't, there's one for sale in the classifieds at the moment). I bought all the parts I needed - tuners, string retainer, pick guard, bridge, neck plate - on Amazon.ie, all sold by Musiclily Direct UK, for the grand sum of €62. I already had some vintage-style telecaster knobs and some regular strap buttons, so I didn't need those. I think the quality of the parts is every bit as good as those I took off it. I particularly like the pick guard, which fitted perfectly with no need for any fettling or redrilling of holes. The tuners, despite being shown by my (admittedly crude) measurements as having the same dimensions as those I took out, did require me to fill and redrill, and the ferrules were slightly too small. Still, a few minutes work with some cocktail sticks and duct (duck?) tape (I couldn't find the PTFE) sorted that: I'll get round to adding the other two screws to each tuner at some point. Maybe. I was particularly pleased that I managed not to drill through to the front of the headstock... The only evidence left of its illustrious origins is the output jack - I'm sure I could find a silver one in the parts drawer if I looked, but I a) couldn't be bothered with the soldering and b) quite like leaving this little marker for 'those in the know'. A few more pics: the new bridge (somewhere between a hi-mass and a BBOM, and perfectly functional - it even came with a shorter spring on the E saddle to allow for intonation), the pick guard (which picks up the blocks quite nicely I think), and the rear with its new plain neck plate (and my foot). And done! I'm very pleased, and much more likely to pick this bass up in its new guise. Fickle, fickle, fickle...

I should update my collection on here. Since getting my dream RetroB 5er, I decided I wanted a 4 string almost-identical sibling. Almost identical in terms of shape and pickups combo, but almost a bit yin to the 5ers yang. My other ACG is my gorgeous TKO Custom - I suspect one of very few white finishes Alan has (and will?) do. Certainly one of one in terms of body binding 🤓

Id sign up for that streaming service and Id pay more for it. AI music is a parasite. It feeds off real music while also killing it.

Here's a close shot of one of my Progress basses.

I think those of us who are fortunate enough to have bought property years ago or are lucky enough to have a council house can’t begin to understand how much of peoples wages are being eroded by rent/mortgage payments. For many (and this includes people who are well paid) the lions share of their income is gone before they even consider every day bills like utilities and food.

"Hello police, this is FMIC. Someone has raided the dumpsters that we were using to carefully store our newly acquired inventory and made off with lots of stuff".

This is the Dynacord Reference 3000 4x10 combo I still have it although I very rarely use it due to the weight but this was very high quality and expensive gear back in the 80's.

I believe 'Neep Basses' are moving in?

None of the above. . . . ! So you've got a small budget and an 80's cover band. Who cares what gear they played in the 80's. . . . actually for most bass players it was what they played in the 70's, and what they all went on to play in the 90's. You've already got the best bass, you don't need to make it 80's, whatever that means. You don't need to spend anything. Your budget should be safe. What worked for them, me and my guess, you, is "One bass to play them all." ps If you really have to blow your budget put a set of Bartolini pickups in your Precision. That is what a lot of bass players did in the 80's. . . me included.

It’s the wrong conclusion. 2008 and then Covid saw a massive increase in the money supply. Central banks printing like crazy. This stoked massive inflation - particularly in stocks and property. Prices went up hugely. Mortgages went up, rents went up, food went up, transportation costs went up, wages went up slightly. People are not going out because of Covid or working from home. They are not going out because they are skint. All of these schemes, every attempt at raising wages are all going to fail. You can’t fill a collinder with water. No matter how good the intentions or how much water you pour in.

Learn to play right handed But in all seriousness - 80s Yamaha - BB perhaps - I think they did a few lefties?

Last night we were working on some new material. Trying new stuff is always a reminder of just how good the jazz greats were; we listen to a piece and think "that sounds easy enough, we should have no problem doing a version of that" and then find that it takes quite a bit of work. Here's one we tried (I don't have a recording of our attempt).

Saturday night. Our small 300 seat historic theatre, The Bend. A 5 minute drive for me. British recording artist Joanne Shaw Taylor. Front row seat. Daryl

I'm halfway to making a circular saw sled inspired by @Bill Fitzmaurice's sled as outlined in his subwoofer plans - I've screwed a length of batten the same length as the width of the ply sheet to the end of the ply sheet. Next stage, when I've got a decent blade for my (t)rusty Black & Decker [1][2], is to cut across the sheet with the batten as a guide, and then all I have to do is put the edge of the sled along the line I want to cut and it will cut along it. That's the plan, anyway. [1] Whose sister Carol did such a magnificent job of singing for T'Pau [2] That should double its value

Had a debrief on Saturday night whilst waiting for drummer to arrive - he’d warned he’d be a bit late. Took the Tokai and Darkglass Anagram and plugged the latter into the effects return which worked well. Only the second time in anger, but it’s pretty intuitive so adding effects and tweaking foot-switch assignments was a couple of quick clicks. Once we got started a couple of new songs mapped out and a few songs for Saturday’s set run through .

Maybe take away the loopholes that enable billionaires to hoard their wealth whilst paying ignorant flagsh@ggers to spread the idea that immigrants are to blame for all of the problems they themselves have caused, but don't want to help solve.

That one touch of "bling" is tasteful. I find the use of gold, faux or genuine, to be vulgar when it is applied liberally. Where it is used to display the owner's wealth (one example being the current resident of a big white house) it is beyond vulgar and well in to perverse territory. You now have a great looking bass. That's a respectful modification. Thanks for sharing.

The V4 had a little hiccup a few months back with a horrible cracking through the speakers, lightning inside one of the EHX KT88s and ultimately a fried fuse. The EHX are still currently untested but being safe rather than sorry, I replaced the fuse and installed some old SED 6550C that I'd acquired - these thankfully brought it back to life. They've been fine but I wanted something a bit newer and special for the big Trace so having done a bit of research, I came across these 'Linlai' branded '88s. Initially, I thought they were re-branded premium Shuguang but seemingly, I was wrong and it's a new factory set up by former emplyees of both Shuguang and Psvane specialising in big hifi tubes such as 845 and 811 plus smaller 6SN/L7 and ECC83/2/1 types.. With only about 45 mins on them so far, it's nowhere near enough time to evaluate them but initial impressions are very good. They look fantastic, biased up and remained stable after about 25 mins plus I noticed an exceptionally low noise floor - the V4 isn't noisy anyways but it was near silent with these. We'll see how they go - I got the best part of ten years out of the EHX (and there's a chance they're still ok) which is longer than I've had out of any other set that have ever been in there. Whether these will match the Russian built valves is yet to be seen but having paid £150 including delivery, the V4 feels great and I'm a happy camper.. 🥰

Cool transcription, thanks. I tend to be a 'nothing above the 7th fret' player but I'll give it a go...

I think a culture change is also needed. My kids generation are happy to spend eye watering sums of money to see the bigger artists on their mega tours but have really minimal interest in watching unknown artists. When I was their age (and still) once bands had got bigger than the Brixton Academy (this was my yardstick) I was no longer interested. Not because they had ‘sold out’ or whatever other nonsense but because I prefer smaller venues and some spontaneity. I don’t want to buy an overpriced ticket months in advance. Even now in Bristol it’s the Fleece, Thekla, Strangebrew or Lantern (there are a couple of others but you get the idea).

We went back and used room 7 last week. What a difference. Costs more and was overkill for us (and bass player didn’t turn up) but keys were better. in one of my other bands we rehearse in the singer's living room. I’m on bass in this one. The bass combo is siting in his conservatory while the rest of us are in the living room, full drum kit and small amps. We get a really nice vibe and surprisingly good mix.

had to grab the latest offering from EQDs sounds great

It was not the original Fender factory. That has long been torn down, there's a parking garage there now. It's the old CLF Design facility, where Leo built the original Music Man guitars and basses for Music Man after he sold Fender to CBS. So FMIC has zero history in that building, other than all the cool prototypes Leo took with him. I wrongfully thought this too, but was corrected when I posted it on Reddit.

Please see extensive update re: Sunday at the 1st post on Page 1 :

Just had a great rehearsal. We started by regining the structure ofour 'standout' song. Then my Deep Purple/Black Sabbath style slow riff song, and we added a double tempo bridge. Really chuffed thst everyone likes it. Then the backing singer shared something barely audible on his phone and I came up with a line that worked and everyone joined in, but this one is more like Kraftwerk so we're covering a fair range. Then we worked up a song the lead singer had previously recorded as just vicals and acoustic. We are all enjoying the creativity.

Thanks all, think Im going for.the mint U5

I think this is a good encapsulation of where pre-amps are currently at.